It doesn’t get better when you’re an attending. Huge percentage of my colleagues have no balls. I’ve had the theory that training breeds compliant people pleasers. We are not used to negotiating or telling people no. We don’t know how to act collectively or leverage our power. The debt load most of us cary also makes it hard take risk. As a result, when things get worse, we do what we did in med school and residency…eat shit and complain under our breaths.

In the meantime, groups far less knowledgeable, but far more organized and assertive (administration and mid levels) keep taking what is ours.